High-Performance Buildings

Abstract

enhancing economic growth, competitiveness, productivity, and quality of life. The construction industry in the United States contributes more than one trillion dollars to the yearly gross domestic product , but based on government statistics like those shown in Figure 1, it continues to stagnate or even lose productivity, unlike most other large-scale U.S. businesses. The construction industry is characterized by a large number of small clients, vendors, designers and contractors who are often not in a position to provide leadership in adopting new technology and practice. Other industry segments, with different structures, have seen more rapid change and significant increases in the productivity of both design and construction. For example, in the process and power industry, the capital cost per kilowatt hour of output from a power plant has declined steadily over the past decade. The construction industry as a whole, and the government agencies that work with it, have not invested significantly in research and development , and have not adequately demonstrated the technologies that do exist. Often, new methods are tried out only on individual projects, and the result is slow adoption of new technology in the marketplace. Where new technology is developed, it is most often pursued to fill an identified market niche rather than being an industry-wide innovation. In looking for the reasons for this low rate of productivity, performance, and adoption of technology, it is important to consider the role of codes and standards in building design and construction in maintaining the status quo. As currently structured, the industry is primarily driven by codes and standards that establish minimum requirements; these, in turn, are based largely on typical industry performance levels. Therefore, standards typically only prescribe minimum performance requirements that can be met by most of the design, construction, and manufacturing community. An owner or builder who wants to do better than the min-